Field of the Invention
This invention relates to silver halide photographic light-sensitive elements and more particularly to a method of forming images wherein the silver halide photographic light-sensitive element contains a matting agent.
Finely divided materials with a mean particle size of from about 1 to about 10 micrometers are commonly used as matting agents to provide a rough surface to photographic elements. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,855,219 and 4,022,622. Further, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,396,706 and 5,057,407 provide matte particles and techniques in order to increase the adhesion of the particles to the photographic element during processing of the element. In addition to the problems expressed in the previously recited references, printer dusting is also an objectionable problem associated with inadequate matte adhesion.
It has been heretofore known to use silica particles having a average particle size of 1 to 10 micrometers as mattes for use in photographic elements. In this regard, note U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,022,622; 2,976,250; 3,920,456; 4,409,322; and 4,396,706. The use of silica particles as matting agents in photographic films suffer from a number of disadvantages: they produce an objectionable, slightly milky appearance, their average grain size cannot be closely controlled, they adhere to wall surfaces and therefore give rise to extensive cleaning of equipment and increased labor costs and they settle out in the coating device and supply pipes, thus rendering impossible the precise metering of given quantities to the coating formulation. In addition to the above, the use of colloidal silica in conjunction with matte is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,975,363; 4,914,012; and 4,232,117.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,235,959 suggests the use of matte particles prepared by condensing in an aqueous medium urea and formaldehyde while vigorously stirring the mixture until particles comprising urea-formaldehyde resin and silica are formed wherein the silica is embedded within the resin matrix.